Season 2, Episode 2: Rocking the Boat
by Lady Anon
Summary: In trying to figure out exactly who his new rookie is Sam stirs some agitated waters. Andy believes she's happy with Luke- is she really? Shay is trying to find her way in 15. Part 2 in the Season 2 series. OC, Rated for mild swearing and violence.
1. Chapter 1

Gail rolled over, lifted on arm, lazily, to block out the sunlight that shone through the curtains. Her curtains; they didn't stay at Chris' place anymore, not since Dov had accidently walked in on them, looking for something. She smiled as she turned her head to look at her boyfriend who was still sleeping, bathed in the rays.

His dark, soulful eyes were closed, and she memorized his profile, her eyes trailing down his nose, across his almost womanly lips, past his neck, all the way down to where his chest, covered in sparse hair, disappeared beneath the sheet. Reaching a hand out, she ran her fingers lightly over his pecks to his heart, where it was caught, quite suddenly, by one of his own.

"Hey," he whispered, cracking his eyes open.

"Hey," she replied before he leaned in to kiss her gently.

Gail smiled up at him, taking in everything, her hand drifting slowly down to where the scar from his stab wound was. "We should get up." She told him.

He slung an arm around her. "We should." Then he settled back into the usual 'five more minutes', holding her close. Gail rested her head on his chest, feeling it rise and fall slightly with the pattern of his breath, which puffed into her hair. _I love this,_ she realized, _I love _him.

Content in the knowledge, she buried her face in his neck, not quite ready for another day. She would give anything to just stay here, with Chris, forever.

Shay woke up to the sounds of someone making breakfast and humming along with the radio. Tossing an arm over her eyes to block out the sunlight she said, "God, Cara. Early much?"

Cara danced over, setting a cup of coffee beside her sister. "Early?" She asked in a cheerful voice. "It's nearly 7:30, sleepy head." She spun back to the kitchen where she began flipping pancakes. Her dark hair was pulled back in a messy bun to reveal the smile that lit her whole face.

Shay sat up and grinned at her. "Good night?" She asked.

"The best." Cara replied and, surprisingly, left it at that. Normally she was inclined to share every detail of her day, but for some reason she was being extremely tight lipped about it.

Shay didn't care if her sister didn't feel like sharing; all the better, really. "Good for you." She said, picking up her coffee and taking a sip. Instantly she made a face. "Ugg. Did you put _any_ sugar in this?" Cara shook her head and, sighing, Shay climbed off the couch and headed for the sugar bowl to make her usual two cream, three sugar.

As she mixed her coffee she glanced at the time on the stove and froze. "What time did you say it was?" She asked, hoping that the clock was wrong.

Cara shrugged. "About 7:30, why?"

"I'm supposed to be at work in 20 minutes!" Shay began to panic. If she was late for work, Best might think that she wasn't a hard worker, and tell District 9 that he didn't want her after all, and maybe they wouldn't take her back, and they'd all decide that she was a failure and fire her, and then they'd starve-

Leaving Cara in the kitchen she grabbed some clothes from her stack in the corner and ran to the bathroom. She tossed on her usual outfit, old jeans and a ratty t-shirt, and started throwing things in her bag while dialing Jerry's number on her cell.

"Jer-" She gasped when he answered. "I need you to come pick me up. I woke up late and missed the bus and-"

"Whoa, whoa," he laughingly cut her off. "Calm down and breath. Now, what was this about the always-early-rising-and-on-time Shaylene Walker missing the bus?"

She huffed. "This is not the time, Jerry. I need to be at work in 20 minutes, so I need you to come get me."

"I'm sorry, kiddo, my car's at home, and by the time I got it and came to get you, we'd both be late." She heard the muffled sound of another voice over the line. Then Jerry came back on. "Listen, Sam's got his truck here, he's going to come pick you up. I'm going to talk to Best and let him know you'll be a bit late, and it'll all be fine."

"But-"

"You'll be fine, Shay." Jerry said soothingly. "It's taken care of."

"But-"

"Shay, Sam'll be there in 10."

"But-"

The only sound from the other end was that of the dial tone. Shay hung up the phone and leaned against the couch, over whelmed by the situation. Cara watched her from the kitchen with an amused look on her face. "You have seriously got to chill," she said. "Or you're going to end up having a premature heart attack or stroke or something."

Jerry hung up his phone with a rueful smile on his face. That was typical Shay, always worried about how people would perceive her asking for help. "Yo, Sam!" He shouted down the hallway to where his friend was standing.

Sam jogged down the hall. "Yeah, what do you need?" He asked, pushing his dark hair out of his eyes.

"Well," Jerry said. "First I need you to get a haircut." He grinned as Sam glared at him. "And secondly, do you think you could pick up Shay for me? She missed the bus and my car is home, in the other direction."

Sam chuckled. "She's freaking out," he shook his head. "Isn't she."

"Yeah. So, do you mind?"

Sam shrugged. "As long as I'm on time, it's not a problem, buddy."

"Thanks." Sam turned and, pulling his keys out of his pocket, headed outside.

Hands ran up Jerry's back and over his shoulders. "You busy?" Traci whispered in his ear, pulling him out of the hallway and into one of the interrogation rooms.

"Never," he told her just before capturing her lips. "Never for you."

Walker was out on the curb when Sam pulled up, her chin in her hands and her bag on the sidewalk beside her. The apartment behind her was old and run down, in a dingier neighborhood, the front steps crumbling into the grass. He pulled over and opened the passenger door, motioning for her to jump in.

She did, as quickly as she could, climbing in a buckling her seatbelt before he even registered that she had moved. Almost as quickly she started talking. "I am so sorry that Jerry made you drive all the way over here," she began in an anxious voice. "I didn't ask him to, I swear. Sometimes he just doesn't understand that there are boundaries-"

_Okay,_ Sam thought. _There is no way I'm listening to this for the whole ride._ "Walker, let me ask you a question." Immediately she shut up, automatically reacting to the tone of authority. "What time does the next bus leave?"

"8:00."

"Okay," he said. "And what time would you arrive at work?"

She thought for a moment. "8:35-ish."

He swore as some guy changed lanes without signaling, then continued with his patronizing questions. "So you'd be late anyway. 35 minutes late. But instead, I came to get you and you will arrive on time. Just one friend doing another friend a favor. No problem."

She swallowed. "But-"

"It's not a problem." He shot her a look, silencing her as she continued to protest. "Don't people ever do you favors, Walker?" There wasn't a sound from the passenger seat. Surprised, Sam glanced over to see the rookie biting her lip nervously. "What?"

She avoided his gaze, and he looked back to the road. "Not really. I don't want to bother people. Normally I can take care of myself; I'm not weak, it's just this lack of transportation thing is really getting to be a pain in the azz."

"Well," Sam replied. "You can pay me back by telling me why you keep adding 'z's to the end of your curses."

Andy rolled over to face her new roommate and boyfriend, only to find that he wasn't there. Come to think of it, she didn't remember him coming home last night either. With a sigh, she shrugged it off. It had to have been something important.

She climbed out of bed and tossed on her usual apparel, jeans and a tank top. When she was dressed she headed out to the kitchen to make breakfast, where she found a pot of coffee waiting and a note from Luke.

_Andy,_

_I got back late and ended up sleeping on the couch because I didn't want to wake you. I had to leave before you got up for a meeting with the detective at 17__th__. Once this Baxter case is closed I'll make you dinner to make up for it._

_Luke_

No 'love', no apology- but that was fine. She'd see him at work today, and maybe they could have lunch. Besides, even if that didn't work out, he _did_ say that he'd cook dinner to make it up to her. That was sweet. Luke was sweet. She smiled to herself and poured a cup of coffee. _This is good._ She thought to herself. _Me and Luke, living together, writing each other notes. I should leave him one, in case he stops in._

She grabbed a piece of note pad and scratched out a note to Luke, signing it 'Love, Andy' so that maybe he'd get the idea. She pinned it to the fridge with a magnet and had another sip of her coffee, smiling in anticipation of Luke's surprise when he found her note.

"I started it when I first got custody," Shay began. "Marissa always swore far too much and I wanted to break her habit." She leaned against the window.

When it became clear that she wasn't going to keep talking Sam prompted her a little. "And?"

She sighed. "And I started by telling the kids to use words like 'crap' and 'frig', but it didn't really stick." Sam pulled into the Tim Horton's drive through. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"I need coffee," he said. "And by the looks of things, you could use some too."

"But we'll be late!"

He looked at her as they pulled up in the line. "We'll be fine. Now, you were saying?" She was busy digging around in her bag, trying to gather up stray coins. "I'll pay. It's fine."

"But-"

Sam groaned. "Is that all you ever say?"

She looked offended. "No!" Letting her bag fall to the floor she sat back in her seat. "Fine. You can pay."


	2. Chapter 2

Shay slid into her seat beside Traci just as Officer Best began his morning announcements. She saw Swarek slip into the back and cross his arms, taking a sip of his coffee. It was black, a fact that he had told her when she ordered her usual sugar-filled drink, which he claimed wasn't even real coffee. Best cleared his throat, and Shay faced the front again.

"Nash, you get a break from the Baxter case; you'll be with Williams. McNally, Swarek. Peck and Shaw, Epstein, you'll be flying with the boys down at the National Guard; they're looking for someone to represent the police force at their annual presentation. Diaz and Walker, you're riding desk." He glanced down at his clip board. "Any questions?"

No one said anything. "Alright then," he continued. "Diaz, show our new rookie the ropes on desk work. Serve, protect, and will someone _please_ get me a coffee?" Best grumbled good naturedly. They all exited the tiny debriefing room and went out to their respective tasks. Shay didn't mind that she was stuck inside doing paperwork; it needed to be done, and besides, it might help her get to know 15th a little better.

The tension in the car was so think Andy thought that she could probably cut it with a knife. Sam sat in the driver's seat, staring straight ahead and not saying a word, and Andy was leaning against her seat, trying to ignore the awkwardness of their first drive together since she had returned from her leave.

Suddenly Sam spoke. "So how's the new apartment?"

"Good," Andy replied, relieved that he had started the conversation, although it wasn't the topic she would have chosen. "It's got a great view."

They lulled into silence again.

Andy hesitated. "So… what do you think of the new rookie, Detective Barber's cousin?"

Sam shrugged. "She's smart, but she's kind of weird. Socially awkward, you know? Really independent."

"I saw you come in with her this morning," Andy said casually as they took a turn into the heart of downtown Toronto.

"Yeah," Sam looked as calm as ever, not at all bothered by her prying. "Jerry asked me to pick her up. She missed her bus or something." He tapped his fingers slightly on the wheel, a sign that Andy knew meant he was itching for something to do. "We stopped for coffee, if you could call that crap she was drinking coffee."

Andy scolded herself for the slight thump her heart gave at the thought of him having coffee with another woman. _It's just because he's your friend,_ she told herself. _You just want someone worthy of him, not some stranger no one's met before._

As they kept talking it became easier, although they both avoided the big elephant in the room, or car, in this case. They talked about work, what movies they'd seen lately, the weather, but not about the intense moment they had shared when Andy was certain Sam was a dead man. _Knowing us,_ Andy thought ruefully, _it could take months until we actually talk about it. I'm surprised that we're talking at all, actually._

"Alright," Diaz said. "That's pretty much all you need to know! It's not too, hard, once you understand the system."

Shaylene gave him a half smile. "Thanks, Officer Diaz." She was sitting in one of the rolling chairs behind the desk beside him, facing the mound of folders in front of her.

"Man, no need to be so formal," he grinned at her. "You're one of us now! Call me Chris." He held out his hand.

Hesitantly she took it. "Shaylene."

Chris leaned back in the chair and put his hands behind his head. "So Shaylene, what district were you at before 15?"

"9th." She said quietly. 9th was the other main district that covered Toronto; while 15th covered the lower East end, most famous for guns, gangs, drug busts and robberies, 9th covered uptown, which mostly consisted of elite night clubs and break and enters into fancy houses.

"Whoa," Chris gave her another grin. _Entirely too happy_. Shay thought. _And nosy._ "Pretty big change of scene then, eh?"

"I guess." Shay replied and then she turned away to clearly define the end of the conversation.

Chris got the message; he turned away as well and began to flip through some files that needed to be sorted. Shay did the same, but her mind was elsewhere. It wasn't a huge change of scene for her; after all, she had grown up in the slums of Toronto. That was partly why she had requested to be transferred to 15th; she knew the lay of the land, knew that part of the city as well as the back of her hand.

After the small talk had finally petered out and silence had reigned supreme for about half an hour, the radio finally crackled to life. "We have a noise complaint in your area, 1505. 668, apartment 47, corner of Westminster and York."

Andy grabbed the radio gratefully and, with a nod from Sam, said, "10-4 dispatch, we're on it."

"I hate noise complaints," Sam began.

Andy cut him off with a smile. "But they're better than nothing." He looked at her. "What? Haven't I heard you sat it a thousand times?"

He shot her a small smile, the first of the day, and flicked on the lights as they headed towards the apartment.

They had been working quietly for a while when suddenly Chris spun his chair around. "So," he said.

Shay waited for him to continue but he didn't seem like he intended to. "So….?"

Chris shook his head, a bashful grin on his face. "I wanted to start a conversation, but that's all I've got."

Shay smiled. He was the kind of perky-annoying that drove her crazy, but he wasn't a bad guy. "So… where're you from, Chris?"

"A little speck outside the city. It's not a bad place, if you don't mind seeing the same 5 people everywhere you go- I grew up there, moved to the city when I turned 20 and entered the academy." He became aware that he was on the verge of over-sharing so he turned it back on her. "You?"

"I'm from the city." Was all she said.

"Oh," he didn't look put off by her answer. "Alright. Why'd you become a cop?"

Shay looked down uncomfortably. The truth was, she became a cop because it seemed like the only way anyone would ever respect a bastard kid from the East end slums, but there was no way she was telling Chris Diaz that. With a half-smile she replied. "I look good in blue."

And that was the end of that.


	3. Chapter 3

The 47th apartment was on the fourth floor and the elevator was broken. As Andy and Sam reached the third floor Andy took the lead. "Getting tired, old man?" She asked, grinning evilly. Just like old times.

"Never." He replied, pushing past her and jogging up the stairs.

The apartment building itself was decently nice; there was a small patch of garden out front, it was a brick building with a clean interior, even if it was slightly run-down. The apartment they were looking for had a shiny brass number on the door and a cute little sign that read, "All those dear are welcome here."

There was no noise coming from inside.

Sam tapped on the door. "Police, open up." As he did so, the door kind of just… fell open. Sam looked at Andy, who shrugged. "Alrighty then…" He muttered, more to himself than to her. They went in.

The living room and kitchen were open concept, and it was clear that there was no one there. The place looked bare; there were no magazines stacked on the coffee table, no dirty mugs sitting by the sink, no sweatshirts hung over the back of chairs. "Hello?" Andy called out. There was no answer. "Worth a shot."

Sam wandered around, looking in the bathroom while Andy checked out the kitchen. It looked like no one had lived there in a couple of weeks, at least, from the dust gathered. When Sam returned to the main room, Andy said, "I'm going to go down and talk to the super, see what the story is on this place, and then maybe I'll talk to the neighbors, see who called and why."

"Sounds like a plan," Sam replied. "I'll hang out up here and check out the place."

When Andy was gone Sam went into the first bedroom, which had been turned onto a sort of home office. At least, that's what he assumed from the only piece of furniture in the room, a desk shoved against the far wall.

He tried the next bedroom. Under the window was a double bed, stripped bare of sheets, just a couple of case-less pillows up at the head. The closet was open and empty, except for a few hangers. Sam sighed. _Just a prank, then._ He thought irritably. _Waste of my time._ He went to leave.

There was a short cry, and he spun around, looking for the source. It came again, and the pillows at the head of the bed moved. Slowly Sam drew his gun, and, very carefully, he approached the bed. When he was in position he flipped the pillows back.

When the baby saw him, it started crying, reaching up for him and screaming. _Oh God…_ Sam thought as he looked at the infant, clad in only a diaper, lying on the mattress before him. "Oh God."

Andy sprinted up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Sam had radioed her, saying, "Get up here, McNally. Now!" He sounded almost…scared. Unsettled, at the very least. Thoughts flashed through her mind; a bomb? A body? A stash of drugs, or guns, or worse?

When she reached the apartment she was panting. She burst in, gun in hand. "Sam?" She shouted. "Sam?"

"I'm right here, Andy." He said. _So we're back to Andy?_ She thought briefly. He was sitting on the couch with his back to her. He sounded tired. "Put that thing away."

She jammed the gun in her belt and approached to see him holding something. "What is it?" She said, more loudly than she intended to.

"Get over here and stop shouting." He whispered. "I just got him to sleep."

Andy came up behind the couch. "Just got him to- what?" And then she saw the baby, wrapped in Sam's jacket and sleeping in his arms. "Oh my God."

"That's what I said." Sam pulled the jacket's rough collar away from the baby's face.

Andy sunk down on the couch beside him. "What do we do?" She asked.

Sam looked at her, catching the worry in her eyes, and, he knew, matching it with the same expression in his. "We call dispatch, try and see if we can find out who made the call, see in we can track them down, and then invite them into the interrogation room for a bit."

"No," Andy shook her head. "I know that. I mean, what do we do with it?" She motioned towards the baby.

Sam stood. "Okay, first of all, he a him, and second of all, you're going to get in the car and drive me and Junior here back to the barn, and then come back here and ask around. Find out whose apartment this is, who lives around here, and who recently had a baby."

Andy stood also and shook out her hands. "Alright." She looked at Sam and the awkward bundle in his arms. "You want me to hold him?"

Sam started out the door. "Nah." He said. "I got it."

"Okay, good." She felt jittery as they started slowly down the stairs. "I was an only child."

Chris and her had been sitting quietly, occasionally making a comment, when Jerry came up to the desk. "Shay, thou who art dearest to my heart-"

"No." Shay said, much to Chris' amusement.

Jerry tried again. "But-"

"No."

"I need-"

She cut him off. "No."

"It's for a case." He said in a rush before she could stop him. "Nothing personal."

She considered for a moment, then sighed. "Okay. What?"

Jerry grinned. "Sam and McNally are coming in, they found something in an abandoned apartment. They requested either you or Traci, and Traci's out. They just need out to meet them by the garage."

Shay sighed again. "Fine, I'll do it. What did they find?"

"I don't know," Jerry began walking away. "Sam didn't say!"

She turned back to the desk. Chris was looking at her and smiling. "What?"

"Nothing." He said. "You and Detective Barber just remind me of my sister and I."

Shay smiled wanly. "Yeah. We get that a lot."

When Shay entered the garage, she expected a lot of things. Maybe they had found a stash of drugs; maybe the needed her to pick a lock or talk to a witness. She did not expect to see Sam Swarek, self-proclaimed man's man, with a baby cradled in his arms, cooing to it softly. She did not expect to see Andy McNally standing awkwardly beside him, looking at the child the same way anyone else would look at a bomb or a loaded rifle.

Immediately she understood why they had wanted either her or Traci. Traci had a kid, Jerry had told her, five or six, named Lee or something? And she had spent more than half her life looking after and raising kids.

"No. No way." Was her only words as she slowly backed away from them.

Swarek looked up. "Come on. McNally and I need to go back to the building, see if we can find the woman who abandoned this little guy. You've got to take him." He held the baby out to her. "Please?"

"No." Shay glared at him. "My baby days are over. Take him to the hospital or something."

McNally jumped in, crossing her arms and giving Shay a look. "We can't." She said flatly. "He's evidence."

_Whoa,_ Shay thought. _Who spit in her bean curd?_ "Technically," she replied, matching the other girl's tone. "He's a witness, and witnesses go to the hospital all the time."

Swarek offered the boy to her again. "Then take him to the hospital. Please." When she shook her head, his voice became more threatening. "Hey. I drove you here this morning. You owe me."

He had hit her weak spot, just like he knew he would. "Fine," she said. "Give him to me."

"Thanks a ton, Shay." He called over his shoulder as he and McNally hurried into the station.

Shay was left standing in the garage with a baby bundled up in someone's jacket. She sighed and looked down at the child. He was staring up at her, eyes wide and trusting. They were big and brown and Shay was reminded of the last time she held a kid this small.

Randy was only a couple months old and already Marissa's latest boyfriend was gone. Shay was rocking her brother in the small room her and Cara shared, with her sister sitting on the bed behind her, with Shay between the two of them and the door. She was only 9 at the time, but already knew that it was her duty to protect her siblings from her mother. Marissa was on another drinking spree, with a little weed mixed in, and was currently alternating between crying and screaming while throwing breakable items at the wall.

9-year-old Shay was suddenly jolted 17 years into the future, looking down at the child who was not her brother, cradled in her arms. "Hey little guy," she whispered to him. "Everything's going to be just fine."

With some luck, it would be.


	4. Chapter 4

Andy hurried to catch up to Sam, whose long legs strode down the hallway with ease, forcing her to move double time to keep up. "Why did you ask for Walker?" She asked. "Traci would know what to do with a baby."

Sam didn't turn his head as he came to the door that led from Holding to the main office, holding it open for her. "Nash is out and Walker's got kids." He replied without thinking.

"What?" Andy stood in the open doorway, confused. "Shaylene's got kids?"

Her jaw was all but dropped and it was then that Sam realized his mistake. "No, she- it's just- it's complicated, okay? You can't tell anyone." When she continued to stare at him, not comprehending, he put his hand on her arm. "Okay?"

"Yeah," she said, shaking herself. "Sure." They entered the office, waving to Diaz who sat at the desk and continuing on to Resources where Annabelle, the department techie, would be able to get them all the info they needed about babies born in the area in ten seconds flat.

Chris could here Sam and Andy coming down the hall, their voices muffled by the thick door that protected the front office from any escapees from Holding. As the entered he heard Andy say, "Shaylene's got kids?" Before Sam hushed her and mumbled something else.

_Whoa,_ Chris thought. _I didn't notice a ring earlier- maybe she takes it off before parade. Or maybe,_ as a new idea struck him. _She's another Traci._

He continued to work, sorting through the stack of paper Detective Callahan had dumped on the desk in front of him about an hour previous. He wondered who he could ask- Andy, of course, and Swarek, but neither were really inclined to share personal information, especially about someone else. But Andy would tell Traci, without a doubt, who might tell Gail, if Gail asked. After all, girls talked, right?

Before he could consider the consequences he texted Gail with a message that read, "Hey, did you hear that Walker's got kids? Weird, huh?" Then he slid his phone back into his pocket and looked up at the woman who had just walked into the door, looking anxious. As he stood to greet her all thoughts of Shaylene and her kids flew out of his mind.

Andy and Sam were back at the apartment building, talking to anyone and everyone who may know anything about an abandoned baby or pregnant woman. Traci and Noelle had shown up to help keep citizens away from the now closed building and intercept anyone who was trying to get in. As Sam questioned the building superintendent Andy made her way over to Traci.

"Hey," she greeted her friend. "How was your morning?"

Traci shrugged. "The usual. Broke up a couple of fights- you know how kids get this time of year." She waved at a woman who was heading for the parking lot besides the building. "Excuse me, ma'am?" She called. "You'll have to talk to the officer by the front if you'd like to enter or exit the premise." The woman nodded and headed off in Noelle's direction.

"Speaking of kids," Andy began, bringing up the topic that had been on her mind since Sam had let it slip. "Did you know that Shay has some?" She got the expected look of surprise.

"No, I didn't. Jerry never mentioned it. Just a couple siblings and a mess of a mother. No kids." She looked thoughtful. "Well, like mother like daughter, I guess."

Andy nudged her for a bit more information. "So no husband?"

Traci shook her head. "No. And she doesn't seem like the type to get married young, and definitely not divorced young." She looked over to the parking lot again to see a gray blur climbing the fire escape. "Hey!" She called. "Come down!"

The figure looked down and they saw that it was the same woman Traci had just directed to Noelle. Andy started for the stairs and the woman began to run, taking them two at a time. Traci paged Swarek, letting him know that they had probably found their missing mother, before following Andy up the fire escape and into the apartment where the boy had been found.

She couldn't get the baby to stop crying. She had checked his diaper, fed him, even managed to rock him in one of the rocking chairs in the hospital nursery. She wanted to leave, but it was her job to stay with the witness, even though she wanted to pull her hair out at the incessant sound. Crying babies always took her back to the days when Randy would just cry and cry and Marissa, too drunk to realize what the sound was, would ignore him until she slept it off.

"I know," she said to the boy as he wailed. "I know. It's a tough world out here. I know you want to be safe and warm with your mummy, but I can't give you that." The baby screamed, drowning out her voice. She waited until he quieted. "Sometimes mummy can't keep you safe and warm. I know it's hard, little man, but you have to be strong." He was silent, staring up at her again with those big brown eyes.

There was a voice from the doorway. "You're very good at that," Swarek- Sam- commented with his customary grin. "Though not sending the same message people usually give babies."

She looked down at the child in her arms, his eyes now on the man in the police uniform. "I don't believe in lying to kids," she said softly. "Even if it hurts them; better that they learn it now than later." She rocked gently back and forth and the boy's eyes drifted slowly shut. She looked back up at Sam. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"We found the mother," he said. "Trying to sneak back in to get her baby. Apparently it was all a mistake; she thought she could give him up, but couldn't actually do it. Nathan told me he drove you over and so I came to pick the two of you up." He leaned against the doorway, and his eyes found the baby again. "What's it like?" His voice had taken on a quiet, thoughtful quality Shay hadn't heard in him before.

"What's what like?" She asked in a near whisper, hoping that the baby would drift into a deep enough sleep that they could get through the ride to the station with no problem.

"Having, you know, kids."

Instead of getting offended at someone prying into her personal life, Shay took the question and considered it. "Its- challenging." She began. "You're so worried about them, all the time- not just that they'll be okay for the moment, but about their future. Worried if you're making them into human beings who will be able to survive, and be happy when they're on their own." She sighed softly, more at herself than at him, though he was watching her avidly now. "I mean, they're not even really my kids, so I'm also always worried that they see me do something and think, 'oh that's what Mom did', or 'Mom didn't do it that way', that they'll always be comparing me to her, and she'll win out better." Sam caught her gaze and she looked away, embarrassed.

"That's crazy," he told her earnestly. "Your mother obviously had problems- she couldn't even be measured in the same category as you."

Shay looked up at him. Anyone else would probably have had tears in their eyes, or a look of gratitude on their face, but that wasn't the way she worked. Her lips had quirked into a small smile, the first real one he had seen out of her, and maybe her eyes had darkened a shade. "Thanks." She held his eyes. "You don't know how much that means."

Uncomfortable with the intensity, the meaning of it all, she looked away and he said, "Well, we better get going. By the time we get back they'll probably be done with the mother and then we can hand him over and go home for the night." He swung the cruiser keys around his finger.

Shay held the baby in one arm and reached down to grab her jacket off of the floor. "Uh-do you think you could hold him while I put this on?" She asked.

He nodded, looking more than a little out of his comfort zone. "I guess." Shay walked over to him and settled the sleeping child in his arms- or, arm. The kid was small enough to fit right in the crook of his elbow comfortably, though Sam looked anything but.


End file.
